Asturias and Chile mourn. One of the most distinguished sons of the council of Asturias and also one of the most prominent businessmen in South America. Juan Cueto Sierra died last Saturday at his home in Santiago de Chile. He was 94 years old and Founder of the business group that owns, among other companies, Latam Airlines, Latin America’s largest airlineNow his children rule him. Apart from his value as an entrepreneur, those who knew him emphasize that he was a “close”, “simple”, “generous” and “kind” person, although the most repeated adjective was “cute”. Among other awards, he was awarded ‘Asturian of the Month’ in August 2010 by La Nueva España of the Prensa Ibérica group, ‘Asturias’ Favorite Son’ and ‘Álvarez Margaride’ by the Government of the Principality in September 2011. By the APQ association (Asturias Patria Querida) in June 2013.
The story of Juan Cueto Sierra mix sadness and success. The first period of his life was dominated by sadness. Born in Colunga in 1929, he left Spain when he was just 7 years old and fled the Civil War with his family. After a brief stay in France, he went to Chile, where he has lived ever since. His father, Enrique Cueto Llada, was mayor of Colunga during the Second Republic. He was able to leave the country with his family, but he chose to stay and was eventually arrested and shot by Franco’s rebels in 1939.
Success came in Chile, but it did not come easily. As Jorge Hevia, the Spanish ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Juan Cueto’s second nephew, recalled, “I had to fight hard” and “from below”. But “creating wealth” was his “great passion,” “as a challenge.”
After opening a bar and leather goods factory and joining a casino, he bought a small cargo airline and created a large business complex from there. The economic crisis left him with the first small airline of the eighties. But he managed to rebuild his business group and make it bigger and stronger than before. The culmination of his adventure as an entrepreneur was the merger of the Lan Chile airline, which he bought in the nineties, with the Brazilian airline Tam to form a new company. Latam is the world’s eleventh airline in terms of number of passengers carried.
María Calvo, president of the Federation of Asturian Entrepreneurs (FADE), underlined that Juan Cueto is “a great businessman, an example of talent and success in all the projects he undertakes, and also a great Asturian.” He has provided “tremendous” help to the Asturian business community and Asturias, he added, and has always been “willing to open the doors necessary for the development of our companies in Latin America and especially in Chile.” He also emphasized that he had chaired the association of Asturian businessmen in Chile for years and that he “collaborated extensively with FADE in the establishment of this association.”
Javier Vega de Seoane, president of Gestlink and DKV Seguros, who, like Juan Cueto, spends his summers on the Colunga council, did not hesitate to emphasize yesterday that the Asturian businessman is “undoubtedly a phenomenon” as well as “undoubtedly a phenomenon”. “a wonderful person and an incredible businessman.” But perhaps most striking was its “simplicity.” Vega de Seoane remembers drinking coffee in a bar in Colunga: “From there he looked like a countryman. In this world where big businessmen stay away from the public and show off their wealth, Juan Cueto did the exact opposite.. He looked like someone else, close, extremely simple, lovely.” And at the same time humble: “You talked to him and it was as if he had done nothing and everything was the work of his collaborators, his children…”, commented Vega. de Seoane. “In peace “May God reward you for your great work on Earth,” he concluded.
Colunga mayor José Ángel Toyos underlined that Cueto is a “reference” for Colunga. “bright and successful” business career. He continued to maintain links with his local council and stressed that he was a “kind, simple and lovely person”. He also highlighted Juan Cueto’s “generous assistance” to the municipality; these included sponsorship efforts such as paying for the maintenance of the Colunga church clock or financing publications such as the “Blue Book of Colunga”, which amounted to a significant donation to the local community. geriatric center.
Carlos Manso, Lastres secretary of the “Santa María de Sábada” Fishermen’s Guild, supported a neighborhood initiative many years ago to recognize Juan Cueto in Colunga; One of the supporters was Eduardo Hevia, father and honorary president of Spain’s internal auditors. Spain’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia. This initiative did not succeed, something that Manso regretted, emphasizing that Juan Cueto was “Colunga’s best ambassador in Latin America” and also a “close” person in his local council.He did not appear to have the social standing he had in Chile“.